Generally speaking, I'm not a huge fan of the reality TV genre.

I don't really consider things like "American Idol" (which I watch because my husband does and it gives us an hour together) and "Dancing With the Stars" (which I watch because I love ballroom dancing) reality shows. They're competition shows where someone is getting a wad of cash or a trophy or something.

No, to me, reality shows began in the early 1990s with "The Real World" (that was when MTV started airing mostly shows and fewer and fewer videos). Reality shows depict people in their natural habitats doing what they do.

My best friend Emily lives nearly 300 miles away, but we talk at least twice a week on the phone. Lately, she has been telling me about the shenanigans on "Gene Simmons Family Jewels," a show that's been on for a few seasons and follows KISS member Gene Simmons, his longtime significant other (and former Playboy Playmate) Shannon Tweed and their two teenaged children, Nick and Sophie.

I came upon the show recently while I was channel surfing. I stopped to watch for a minute.

Now I'm hooked.

My DVR is half-full of recorded episodes. I can't just sit and watch one; it's never enough.

I think what I like the most about Gene Simmons is that, while he obviously loves Shannon and his children, he is all about Gene. What you see is what you get. He often says he is "an attractive and powerful man" ... and it's apparent he believes it. He'll tell you he's a jerk. He'll tell you he's all about the money.

But somehow, he comes off likable ... to me, anyway.

I realize Gene Simmons is a gazillionaire ... that he lives in a house you could fit ten of mine into. But I think what I like the most is that you can just tell that underneath all that excess, he loves his family ... just like I do.